Upon the Hearts of Others
by magicsprite
Summary: Uhm, it's kind of like a Soul-switching of Kagome and another character I made up. UPDATED! Very near completion, err... ONE MORE CHAPPY!
1. Mirosha, HalfDemon Extrordinaire!

Author's note: This is my first attempt at an Inu-yasha fanfic. Pardon any suckage.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any RECOGNIZABLE characters of Inu-yasha. Mirosha and some of the later demons are mine. Please do not sue, I am poor and it will just be a waste of all of our times.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Story:  
  
Kagome drew her bow, her final arrow aimed at Naraku's heart. She released, and missed.  
  
"You think you can defeat me? You, a mere mortal? How dare you?" Naraku's face contorted in anger. Reaching behind him, he picked up Kagome's spiritual arrow. "This is what I think of your power! Nothing!" He pricked his finger with the arrow. Nothing happened. "Now, die!" Pulling back his arm, Naraku threw the arrow at Kagome, and it hit true.  
  
"No!" Inu-yasha cried, pulling himself from the ground with increased ferocity. He watched in horror as Kagome fell, blood pooling on her white school uniform.  
  
'So this is how it ends?' She thought. 'At the hand of a demon?' She fell, unconscious, as Inu-yasha struck with the Tetsusaiga, killing Naraku forever.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mirosha attacked, her black hair falling limply at her sides, and dog ears burning with Kagaru's wind shrieks. "You will die! I will avenge my sister!" Kagura had murdered her sister, who was entirely human, in mistake for Mirosha. Kagura's arm was raised, poised to attack, and before Mirosha could deal out a steel claw, The bamboo fan came down, blades of air flying from it. Mirosha colapsed, bleeding profusely. Before she died, she saw Kagura sink to the ground, in a melted puddle of evil essence.  
  
"Ha. You didn't get me in the end, now did you?" And with that, Mirosha lost consciousness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome awoke, a feeling of Demonic power hovering about her. She sat up quickly, and instantly regretted it.  
  
'What the...?' Kagome felt her chest– no arrow wound, just systematic slices in her breasts and stomach. Reaching upwards, she rubbed at her head. 'Oh my god...'  
  
Where Kagome used to have thick, black hair rested a tangled mess. And ears. Her old ears had vanished, all that remained was odd, tufted dog ears. Looking down she saw she wore no shoes, but dark, canine talons sprouted from her fingers and toes. She felt at her teeth. No longer smooth, they were sharp and pointed.  
  
'I've turned into a demon!' Kagome was horrified. Although the pain was dull, and she could feel herself mending much quicker than normal, she would rather be dead. "Inu-yasha? Inu-yasha!" Kagome called out frantically, she needed someone to comfort her metamorphosis. More startling than her new appearances, was the realization that Kagome was totally alone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mirosha was awakened by a searing pain in her chest. "What the hell...?" She was topless, and a large bandage was bound tightly about her chest. Miroshu was weak. Very weak. Her aura had completely dissipated, and she felt almost human.  
  
"Oh, thank gods you're alive!" A small fox-demon praised. "I'll go get Inu-Yasha. You have no idea how worried he was. It's almost as if he loved you!" The fox laughed, showing small, pointy teeth.  
  
"But..." Mirosha fell back on the stack of rags behind her head, pulling a red shirt tighter up around her. 'Where am I?' Before she could correctly organize her thoughts (she could only think she should be dead) a handsome half-demon walked in to the clearing, the fox on his shoulder.  
  
"Kogome," he started. "Are you okay? Naraku is dead. You shouldn't have interfered! You nearly got yourself killed!" The demon spouted all of this off in a very worried and quick manor, but at the same time seemed angry. "After all, you are only a mortal."  
  
"What!?" Mirosha had never been so insulted in her life. "I am one of the most powerful half-demons in all of feudal Japan! How dare you insult me so!? I'll tear you to shreds with my bare claws!" She started forward, right at the surprised form of the dog-demon and fox. She planned to kill them, even if it took the rest of her strength. She stumbled, and fell, directly into the arms of the cursed puppy. And then she realized.  
  
Her sense of smell was immeasurably weakened somehow, and her hearing was much less acute. Mirosha looked at her hands– her nails were perfectly manicured. Inadvertently she gasped. "What... did you do to me?" She felt the hot tears gather in her eyes, and reached up to her head. Her hair was soft and sleek, but her beautiful ears– the soft gray ones that poked up irregularly from her black hair– were gone. In there stead was a pair of ordinary, useless human ones. "You destroyed me! You monster!" Mirosha turned and tried to flee, but tripped and fell. Everything went black.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's note: I have recently become obsessed with Inu-yasha thank to a few friends of mine, and had a lovely idea on a soul-switching story in the bath the other day. So here it is. My first attempt at an Inu-yasha fanfic. Just click that little gray button at the bottom of the screen and tell me if I should continue or give up writing forever. Thanks a load, and sorry this chapter was so short. Bye!  
  
~*~*-magic-*~*~ 


	2. A Double Awakening

Disclaimer: I am poor. I am uncreative. The only works of writing I have done were based on the stories of other people. This is for my own pathetic amusement, people. Please don't sue.  
  
A/n: By the way, ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ means new location, it'll take up half of the page, and ~*~ means a new time at the same, previous location. That is all. On with the show!  
  
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Mirosha sensed the strong, demonic power hovering about her like a veil. 'Ah,' she thought. 'It was just a dream.' She inhaled deeply, realizing it was raining out. The smell of wet dog filled her nostrils, soothing her. She slowly opened her eyes, and gasped. The scent and the power were not her own. That same, irritating inu-demon sat very near her, his arms and a stick supporting a blanket in a tent-like fashion.  
  
"Who... are you?" She said it brokenly, gasping with pain in between words.  
  
"You don't remember anything, do you?" The demon replied, his soft, golden eyes saddening. "You fired your Holy Arrow at Naraku, to protect me. He threw it back at you, and you died."  
  
"I died? How is that possible?"  
  
"Who knows. All I am positive of is that your heart stopped beating and you didn't breath for a whole minute, Kagome."  
  
"Why do you persist in calling me that? My name is Mirosha. Come on, say it with me– 'Mir-o-sha." She said the words slowly and clearly, irritated that this demon didn't realize she wasn't this 'Kagome' person, whoever she was.  
  
"I had hoped this wasn't the case." A monk had walked into the clearing, prayer beads wrapped securely around his left hand. "My name is Miroku," said kindly. "What is your name and history?" All the while Miroku edged closer, a pleasant smile on his face.  
  
"Miroku, you baka, what the hell is wrong with you? She knows your name, and you know her's I think she just might have one of those concussi things she's always worried about."  
  
"Dammit, I swear that he is the only one making any sense!" Mirosha cursed, her volume rising. "I'm not who you think I am, my name is Mirosha. I am Japan's most powerful half-demon. I would kill you if I could walk!" Mirosha winced. "Damn these wounds down to the hells!"  
  
The half-demon gasped. "You really aren't Kagome, are you?" He looked at her curiously. "She would never curse, no matter how angry she got." The light in the boy's eyes faded away, as if the small fire ignited by her consciousness had been snuffed out with a simple fingertip. "Then you must be a demon!" Jerkily, the demon drew out a dangerous looking sword. "Get out of my Kagome!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kagome woke again, bird-song filling her ears. A painful flashback and one use of her enhanced senses and she was up, agonizingly aware of the fact that she was a demon.  
  
'Ugh. I need to get to some sort of water. Kagome stood, hauling her aching body towards something that smelled distinctly like fish. Quite conveniently she found a small camp, stocked with various weapons and food stores, though she was at first wary to eat them. Sniffing at a packet of dried meat gingerly, Kagome was amazed to discover she could smell that it was harmless. She ate her fill and quickly undressed.  
  
Kagome waded into the nearby stream, the rushing waters flowing over her exhausted legs, refreshing them. She splashed about amiably, washing the dirt and blood (her own blood she realized) off of her pale skin.   
  
'Whoever's body this is, they are really powerful,' she thought concernedly. The presence she sensed reminded her strongly of Inu-yasha, the full waves of demonic powers flooded her senses, overtaking her and forcing her to sit down in the stream. She let the water slow, and looked cautiously at her reflection.  
  
Staring back at her were two of the biggest eyes she had ever seen. They were a dappled grayish silver color, flecked with deep black. Her pupils were abysmal, and she herself nearly was lost in them. Her hair was a rag-tag mess, knotted and tangled but pulled back into a bone clasp to keep it out of her eyes. Its color was also odd. It appeared at first to be black, but if she tilted her head, Kagome could tell it was more of a silverish gray. The hair of her new body was one of the oddest things she had ever beheld. It was opalescent, and fascinating. Perched atop her head were two dog ears, the same color as her eyes. She reached up and stroked them, another sad reminder of Inu-yasha.  
  
Kagome turned her attention to her features. They were seemingly delicate, her nose softly formed and lips gently curving, but one look at her body made her think otherwise. Kagome ran her hands down her arms, which were trim and muscular. She stared at her warrior's chest, which was completely flat. And she frowned at the hairiness of her legs.  
  
"Feudal Japan or not, there is no excuse for a lady to let herself go untended." With that Kagome began to wash, clearing her skin of any remaining muck and scrubbing at her hair with a cake of yellow soap she found in one of the bags.   
  
~*~  
  
Kagome dried off, toweling out her hair and searching for a comb, still worrying about her friends.  
  
'Inu-yasha, I will return to you. I love you.' She thought it in her head and wondered how she had gotten where she was. Maybe Naraku teleported her here or something. Either way, she needed to get back to them.  
  
Experimentally, she sniffed the air. Snake. All she could smell was snake. She didn't know how or what compelled her to do it, but her body suddenly tensed, and drew her sword on its own accord. She turned around to face a demon. Full blooded and raging, it swayed in the trees, its thick, serpentine body coming closer to her.   
  
"I, Ekkita kill. Ekkita hunger for puppy meat. Ekkita desire full meal." The snake spoke oddly, but still conveyed its menacing air.  
  
"Good little puppy demon put down sword. Let Ekkita consume it. Let Ekkita crunch it. Let Ekkita KILL it!" The snake screamed the last words and lunged for her. Instinctively, Kagome raised her blade, ready for the demented reptile.  
  
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Author's note: I tried my very best to make this chappy longer to no avail. It is only two hundred words more than the last. Oh well, I wanted to be evil and leave you with a double cliffy. Uh huh. Here's my question for you all. Does anyone know of any insect demons other than Mistress Centipede, those praying mantis things that attack Miroku, and Naraku's killer bees? I want to develop another demon for upcoming chapters, and want it to be a bug. I just don't want to copy, though. Review or e-mail me at magicsprite1@hotmail.com if you have any, I'd really appreciate it.   
  
~*~*-magic-*~*~ 


	3. Serpents Far and Wide

Author's Note: Wow, I am soooo sorry it took me so long to update! No kuso, I mean it, I never take this long! Oops. Uh, well, I had school crud to do, in fact, I have a paper due tomorrow, but I'm not gonna do it until later, so there! Yup, I'm a rebel. Well, here are my review responses:  
  
Arpeggio evil genius: I'm glad you're enjoying it, and thanks, I'll use your suggestion about a scorpion demon! *thinks how she can make it killer and ravenous for human meat...*  
  
A: I'm sorry you feel that way, but there is a point (the whole thing you asked about, that's kind of it) but remember, it's not like I can MAKE you read it...  
  
Disclaimer: We've been through this before, people. I DO NOT OWN INU-YASHA!! Now, I must go feed Miroku, I've managed to smuggle him out of the comic book and under my bed. *Strangled cries of, "help, she's keeping me prisoner!" emit from under the bed*. Uhhh, ignore that, it's... my... mouse. Uh huh.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Inu-yasha swing the tetsaiga down towards Mirosha's head. "Get, out! I'll chop you out if you don't leave on your own free will!" The sword came closer and closer to the head of Kagome's body, ready to kill her.   
  
"No!" Miroku shouted, his staff going up, blocking Inu-yasha's blow. "You musn't kill her, she still resides in lady Kagome's body! You knock her out of it, then Kagome will never be able to return to it, not to mention what it might do to Kagome's spirit!" Miroku's words apparently struck home; Inu-yasha put down his blade with a pout.  
  
"Fine, but one wrong word out of her mouth and she's dead." Inu-yasha plopped down onto the ground with a resounding, "Feh."  
  
"Okay, let's get this straight. In your own, true body you are a powerful half-demon, yes?" Mirosha nodded at Miroku's prompting. "And you must have been killed, much like the lady Kagome, to be in her body now. Tell me the last thing you remember, please?" Miroku sat down next to Inu-yasha and looked expectantly at Mirosha's quizzical face.  
  
"Well, I had been fighting that bitch--" Inu-yasha gave a sharp intake of breath, "Kagura when she shot wind at me and I fell, wounded--"  
  
"You mean dead. You died, didn't you! Feh, I knew you were no more powerful than I, dying like some kind of hum--" a look of pain crossed his amber eyes, "like Kagome. Continue."  
  
"No, I just fell, injured horribly, and before I blacked out, I watched Kagura melt into this neat little puddle of blood and metal." Mirosha smirked, vengeance on her lips in a very un-kagome-like fashion. "Either way, she's dead, I'm alive, and you may do whatever you like, but there's no way I'll help you." She ended her statement with an odd kind of look. One that seemed to breath, 'just try and stop me.'  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes they saw desperation.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome ran forward, her sword poised, she slashed against her will. Up and down, the blade hacked, cutting the flesh of Ekkita, and spewing his blood everywhere. The snake, although half there, was still alive, and lunged at her from the side. Kagome neatly leapt up into a tree, wounds and all, coming behind the animal with a deadening blow. Ekkita sunk to the ground, split down the middle in a fashion that even Inu-yasha would have been proud of.  
  
Kagome stepped away, horrified at the pile of gore that sat in front of her, but was shocked further at the sound of clapping behind her. Spinning around quickly, she searched for the source of the noise, and found herself looking at a pair of diminutive hands, clapping around a pair of reins in them.  
  
"Very, very good! My lord might have had difficulty doing better! That was neat, the way you cut it in two, it looked so familiar, though..." It was a tiny child Kagome found herself speaking to, one with a pretty pink kimono, and a lopsided pony-tail.  
  
"Rin." The word was simple, and soft, yet it still sent the message of fear to the small girl.  
  
"H-h-ow do y-you know m-me?" Rin managed to stutter out, "I have not seen you in this life, and know you not." Rin backed away, fear in her tearing eyes. She was terrified.   
  
"L-lord S-s-sessomaru!" she screamed shrilly, her voice carrying high above the trees, scaring away flocks of birds. Kagome readied herself. Sessomaru would be hear momentarily if he was any closer than ten miles, and had a bad habit of attacking first and then regretting that his questionee was dead.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Author's note: I'm done for the night, but another update shall arrive sooner than you think! Did you guys know that the word closest to "Kagura" in the English language is "cigaret"? Go figure. Now, press the self-destruct button. You know the one. With the little "Go" label on it. Uh-huh.   
  
Oh, yeah, and I have a random pissy beef. THEY TOOK INU-YASHA OFF OF THE AIR FOR FOUR WHOLE MONTHS AND REPLACED IT WITH SOME GAY AND RETARDED SHOW ABOUT A GIRL WHO RIDES A YELLOW SCOOTER AND BASHES PEOPLE UP-SIDE THE HEAD WITH A ROCK GUITAR. HOW CAN THE TWO POSSIBLY COMPARE?! WHAT DRUGS WERE THEY ON WHEN THEY DECIDED TO SWITCH THE TWO?! GAWD!  
  
Ok, I'm calm now. That felt good. Ahh. Soothing release of anger. Bye now!  
  
~*~*~-magic-*~*~ 


	4. Enter Sessomaru, and the Issues With Rin

A/N: To my one, loyal reader:   
  
I apologize soooo much for taking my terrible time at updating this forsaken chapter, and then giving you such a short piece of dung to read. I hate myself, but thanks Arpeggio! I love being asked to update. It makes me feel like there's someone in this world who cares about what I write.  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA. That said, I'd like to beg you all into not telling that I kidnaped him with my super-human strength and hid him under my bed. "Gerroff, Shippo! Let me go!!" Heh heh, Inuyasha has such a sense of humor. Shippo didn't help. "My butt...." *Shippo crawls back under the bed sulkily* Rrrright. On with the story!  
  
Chapter Four:  
  
Inuyasha tramped through the woods, calling out over and over again one simple word.   
  
  
  
"KAGOME!!" He stumbled down an embankment, exhausted after all of his searching. It had taken him a good six hours of running to get where he currently stood– at the burbling source of a hot spring.  
  
::Kagome loved hot springs...:: He thought pathetically. He was exhausted from the two hundred miles he had covered in the short time, and couldn't find even a trace of his Kagome, as he had taken to calling her.  
  
::So what if she cares not for me? She's mine, I claimed her before anyone else, and if anyone says a single thing about it, then I'll cut them to pieces!:: Inuyasha began to undress for a nice, hot bath to soothe his aching muscles, all the while thinking of where Kagome could possibly be. He had just gotten his shirt off when a sharp rustle came from the bushes.  
  
Inuyasha leapt, pulling his hanyou back on and drawing the Tetsusaiga. The simple thought that the thing could have anything to do with Kagome made the sword flash with power, and extend to its full size.   
  
"Who's there!?" Inuyasha shouted, and adjusted his stance, facing a dark and unyielding forest. A flash of white darted past, stopped, and returned.  
  
"Hmmm, little brother. How... good to see you again." A tall demon in full body armor and kimono, his long tail wrapped around his neck stepped into the clearing, his face cool and collected, but his frantic rush evident in the twigs and branches sticking out of his hair.  
  
"Sessomaru! How dare you show hide in this forest?! It is mine to protect, so leave, now!" Inuyasha set the sword in front of him, and searched for the windscar. Locating it with ease, he felt ready to destroy his elder brother with one sweep.  
  
"Please, Inuyasha," Sessomaru's voice was ice, and cut Inuyasha's mind like a knife. "I... have other business to attend to, much more important than that of your own petty needs. I could care less for what you feel like doing." Sessomaru glanced at his fingernails, a look of boredom on his face. "You know you are no match for me, so just lwave and I'll let you live."  
  
Inuyasha stared belligerently at his brother, pure contempt outlined on his features. "Where is she?" Although he said it softly, the menacing air in his tone was enough to make even the elder sibling wonder.  
  
"Who do you speak of, dear brother? You really must make these things clear..." He trailed off, his head shooting up quickly, and panic flooding his face. "I apologize for the abrupt business of leaving you, but Rin is in trouble. I shall kill you later. Fare well, Inuyasha, for your life is mine..."  
  
::That was... odd, to say the least. Normally he'll at least take a swing at me before running off... Oh, well. Gotta find Kagome!::  
  
********************************************  
  
Sessomaru dashed through the forest, the screams of Rin still fresh in his mind. His previous plans to seek out food had been forgotten, his mind focused completely on saving Rin. As soon as he scented her he changed direction, sidestepp ing to avoid a tree, then leaping up over a valley. His movements were precise and grace, something he felt proud to hold over Inuyasha. He ran swiftly until he reached a clearing, where Rin stood hovering in the hollow of a tree, a female half-dog standing over her.  
  
"Please, Rin. I won't hurt you, promise. I just... need Sessomaru's help. He'll be able to tell me where I need to go. Please? I'll give you somethin–''  
  
"Leave her!" Sessomaru came down, his whip drawn and aiming for the girl's face. She dodged nimbly, drawing a sword and deflecting his blows in a familiar style.  
  
::Who is this woman? She fights like... like...:: Sessomaru pulled up suddenly, and to his surprise, so did the half-dog.   
  
"Girl. Who are you and why does your fighting techniques so resemble one I know? Who did you learn under? Did he teach you to give in when your opponent brakes? Was it from him that you learned to throw around blind strength? That is of sense to me. This girl you were attacking, she is like my daughter. I'll kill you for bothering her!" He lunged forward violently, shrieking in anger when the girl's blade nicked his shoulder.  
  
"Oh, dear! I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you! In fact, I need your help." The girl let down her sword, and knelt down next to the wounded Sessomaru.  
  
"NO! Leave him alone, you bully! He did nothing to warrant your wounding him, go away!" Rin dashed out, falling next to Sessomaru and pushing away the girl's sword. "LEAVE!"  
  
"But..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome stood up and sprinted out of the clearing, sheathing the sword as she went. Smelling her own blood, she looked down and nearly cursed at the blood pooling upon her hanyou.   
  
::Oh, great. Just what I need. This is strong enough to attract all of the demons within thirty miles!:: Kagome stopped, an idea reeling its way through her head. She took out a handkerchief, and wincing, daubed as much of the blood from it as she could. She promptly climbed a tree, and waving the bloody rag through the air, prayed for the best.  
  
::This will result in one of two things. Inuyasha will come to investigate the scent of a female half-dog, in hopes of meeting someone similar to himself, or I'll be run down by a demon horde and left to die. Either way, this might not be good.::  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Twenty-three miles away, Inuyasha lifted his head from the hot spring. The smell of fresh blood was on the slight breeze, and it smelled like dog. Leaping from the spring, he sniffed again. He inhaled the air thoroughly while he dressed, and it wasn't until he had begun fully running did he realize the other hint in the blood.  
  
::That's female, and... part human! Could it be, Kagome?:: Inuyasha moved quicker, the thought of Kagome fresh in his mind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/n: There you have it, all. My crappy, demented paper that now has left you with a cliffy. I promise to try my best to type again soon! The next chapter will be up soo– ACK!! Miroku's escaping, quick, Shippo, after him!! 


	5. The Hanyou's Struggles With Death

Author's Note: Never fear, my darling readers/reviewers! I have recaptured Miroku, and securely tied him to my bedpost! I win! In that period of time, I also drugged Sessomaru, so now he and Inuyasha are fighting hysterically over who gets to sit next to the window. Heh heh. Life is good! Well, I'm gonna go on with the review responses now... THERE ARE NONE!! Wahhh!  
  
Oh, well. Who cares. This story is close to being done, so I continue!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. What do I own of him? All of the English mangas... the PS1 game... pictures... candy... Any who! All Inuyasha characters except Mirosha and some demons belong to Rumiko Takahashi, so DON'T sue!! Thank you.  
  
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Inuyasha ran, following the scent of the blood. His mind was made up. If it wasn't Kagome, he would assume she was dead and go back to kill that snippy demon that had assumed place in Kagome's body. He followed the scent, unhopeful and dejected that the one girl who liked him just the way he was, was doomed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome sat in her tree, someone else's blood dripping from the numerous slashes on the chest of someone else's chest. She figured she'd be dead soon. Her two fights and fleeing for her life because of a lack of someone to protect her had tugged heavily on this body and her own mind.  
  
::I left Inuyasha in a battle to the death...:: She thought mournfully. ::I shouldn't have left him there! It's my fault I'm like this. He's probably dead...:: Tears fell from her eyes and spilled, mixing with her blood. ::I should go with him. Maybe we'll end up together in the end...::  
  
Kagome let her head fall, ready to die. Only running steps away, a large scorpion-demon felt her resolve for death, and started towards her in the lumbering way only an insect could successfully accomplish.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha smelled salt mixing painfully with the blood. Whoever this dog-girl was, she was crying. ::Maybe... No, it can't be Kagome. I'm just going to check out who... who is so injured. Kagome always wanted to do that. Help people. I'll do it for her.::   
  
He kept on running, the scent getting stronger, and the distance shorter. Suddenly, the reek of blood increased, and with it a sense of first fear, and then relief. ::The wounded wants to die!:: Thought Inuyasha stupendously. ::Maybe I shouldn't help...:: A thought occurred in his head, suddenly and without warning. ::That smells like... Sessomaru!:: A flare of rage went up through Inuyasha's body. If someone thought they were going to kill a wounded half-breed, than they had another thing coming.  
  
"There are so few of us! You won't murder us all, brother!" Inuyasha sped up, plowing through bushes and disregarding the rain that began to fleck his face. "Great. Just what I need, a something to dull the scent..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome sat still in the tree, her vision blurred by the excess pain caused by her wounds. She distinctly smelled Inuyasha on his way to her, but did not care. She felt dead. Her body was too far gone for thinking, and even the thought of the man she loved coming to her aide wasn't enough to make her stir.  
  
At the same time, Sessomaru and the scorpion demon burst into the clearing. At first, the giant arachnid was confused at the sight of the bleeding girl and armored man, but he quickly recovered and soon charged the one who seemed to him weaker.  
  
Kagome clenched her fists in the branches at her side, ready to receive anything the two demons had to throw at her. First the scorpion lunged with its pincers, knocking Kagome's body from the tree, continuing to bloody her to its best extent. By now she was nearly dead. All expression had left her eyes, her pupils becoming large and dilated. Finally, she closed them, giving up.  
  
Sighing, she opened her eyes for the final time. The scorpion's blows had not ceased, but they had become numb, and she no longer even cared. A flash of red illuminated the air before her, and she passed out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Miroku glanced upwards, staring at a star suddenly flashing red.  
  
"Come on!" He snatched Mirosha's arm, pulling her down from the tree she had sulkily perched in. "Kagome-chan and Inuyasha-sama are in trouble! We're leaving!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
******************"No!" Inuyasha gasped, the sight of a limp hanyou being continuously beaten by blunt pincers was too much for him to bear. His rage was furthered by the sight of Sessomaru leaning innocently against a tree, ready to jump in if there was any chance of the girl surviving.  
  
He drew the Tetsusaiga, poised it above his head, and brought it down swiftly on the hard exoskeleton of the large arachnid. It split neatly down the middle, and fell in two pieces on either side of the girl.  
  
"Ka... are you alright?" Inuyasha stepped forward, stupefied. The girl was alive, but barely.   
  
"She'll be dead soon. And in deservance of it, too. She attacked my daughter who is young, harmless, and unarmed because of her pacifism. These are the laws of Karma, Inuyasha. Learn them." Sessomaru turned quickly and left the clearing noiselessly. With the girl dead who he wanted to take vengeance on, there was no reason to stay.  
  
Suddenly, the girl sputtered, and coughed up clots of blood. Her hand groped at her side, and Inuyasha took it. "Inu... That you?" She was still blind. Her eyes had turned the milky color of death.  
  
"Yeah... Kagome?" Inuyasha looked down at her. So different from the Kagome he had learned to love. This was the first human he had ever truly trusted; even Kikyo in the end he lied to. It was impossibly difficult for him to let her go.  
  
The girl nodded, slowly, once again choking on blood. "Go... be happy with... Kikyo..." In her Kagome-like fashion, she had read his thoughts, but not correctly.  
  
"No! Never! Kagome, I... I love you..." Inuyasha looked down, ashamed that he had taken so long to tell her the one thing he had always wanted her to know. "All those times I called you 'stupid,' or an 'idiot,' I really didn't mean it. I didn't know how to deal with you! You're so weird!" Inuyasha stopped. Insulting the woman he loved on her death-bed wasn't exactly something he wanted on his conscience.  
  
"Shh... I love you too. I'm glad you told me this, Inuyasha. I'll be OK. Don't worry." A smile cracked Kagome's bloody lips, and she slowly closed her eyes.   
  
"Don't... die. Please?"   
  
Kagome's smile broadened, showing pointy teeth. "That's the first time you've ever asked me for anything nicely... alright. I'll try my best..." Kagome's voice faded, and her breathing regulated. Shallow, but even, she fell into a dangerous sleep.  
  
For the second time that week, he took off his jacket to form a tent over the women he loved. Only this time, it was something more precious than her heart.  
  
This time he protected her soul.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/n: Well? This is the second to last chapter. The next will wrap it ALL up, I swear. I'm thinking there will be a surprise visit from Kikyo, but I really DO hate her, so she might have to die... Ooohhhhh well! Now I need to feed the Inu-men and Miroku. They keep complaining that dried cheerios isn't good enough to keep up their warrior's sustanence....  
  
Miroku: IT'S NOT!!  
  
Any who! They'll have to get by on... salad? I'm a vegetarian. I suppose I can give them raman?  
  
Inuyasha: Yay! Ramen! That stuff is gooood!  
  
Errr... rrright. Ramen it is!  
  
Sessomaru: No. I wan't fish.  
  
Inuyasha: Deal with the ramen, I like it!!!  
  
::Inuyasha and Sessomaru start to kick and bite each other on the arms while Mara the magicsprite continues to make their ramen.::  
  
Oh, well! Guess I can't have everything, can I?  
  
::Miroku shakes his head.:: Miroku: You can't seem to get Kouji, now can you?  
  
ACK! I promised to get him from his manga! Be right back! I'm off to the land of Fushigi Yugi!  
  
Miroku: Mara-chan would like to apologize for her sudden absence. Please leave a review so I may say that it was thanks to me. Maybe I'll get an orange! Yummy! 


End file.
